MANY golf clubs across
Britain may be forced to end blanket bans on the use of motorised carts
after a disabled player won a discrimination test case.

Vernon Roper, who
has multiple sclerosis and can only walk short distances, asked a court
to order the Singing Hills Golf Course in West Sussex club to allow him
to use a buggy. A judge ruled that Mr Roper, who plays off a 23 handicap,
had been the victim of unjustified discrimination.

The ruling has implications
for any club whose rules penalise golfers with mobility problems. The Disability
Rights Commission, which supported Mr Roper, has received similar complaints
from other golfers.

Mr Roper, 53, a self-employed
electrician, is hoping the ruling by a county court in Haywards Heath will
enable him to fulfil his ambition of playing on every course in Sussex.
He has already played on many others, using a buggy.

Singing Hills, at
Albourne, near Brighton, said that it banned buggies because the course’s
layout and landscape was unsuitable and the vehicles would cause irreparable
damage to the turf. Shirley Hunt, a club director, said in court that she
disliked buggies.